Ill Manors broadcast platform: TEDx lecture

1) What are Plan B's beliefs/politics? What are his values/ideologies? Explain your answers.

Plan B beliefs that ''troubled'' youths are ignored by society and feel that they have no sense of belonging. This is the main reason why they act hostile when confronted by authority, whether it be teachers or the police. This leads to them listening to rappers -who although, recite lyrics that can be quite explicit-empower them and enables them to believe they can change their life. This form of music (called conscious hip hop) doesn't necessarily ''glamorize gang culture'' but exposes it for what it really is. By presenting the ''grim reality'', we are able to understand what they go through.

Plan B also believes, that this sector of society, is also convinced that they ''cant make it'', in other words, be successful or achieve their goals, as they come from dysfunctional families. Therefore he states that this could change if there is someone who can help them. 



2) Who is the target audience of the TEDx lecture? Demographics? Psychographics? How do you know? How does this compare to the audience for his music/films? Is there more than one audience for this talk?
I believe that the target audience is the upper/middle class as he refers to issues that would usually be initiated and discussed by this particular group. For example, the comments made about music (that appeals to the youth) and how it ''glamorizes gang culture'', would usually be made by those who see them as a threat to society. This belief was reinforced during the London Riots in 2011,as business owners and those who had been affected by the riots, believed that this reckless ''subculture'' was destroying society. 

Therefore the audience would mostly consist of white middle class/upper class people (who are mostly male) aged 30-50. In terms of psychographics they would belong in the ABC1 social bracket and would either be succeeders, or resigned (Young and Rubican model). This is because these groups are more educated and likely to have these opinions as they are more concerned about their security and status. This target audience is completely different to his target audience for his music/films, who usually target the ''troubled youths''. However, there is a possibility that the TED Talk is aimed at this group as well. It could possibly encourage them to ignore the ''demonisation of the youth'' in the media and strive for success. 

3) What does Plan B say about the media? Explain how this can be linked to Cohen's media theory of moral panics? Read this summary of moral panics and the definition from Wikipedia and use them in your answer.

Plan B explains that the media often use ''labels'' as a way of representing a certain social group. His example, referred to the word ''chav'', which came from the Romani word ''chavvy'', meaning child. However, in 2002, when Michael Carroll won the lottery, the local newspapers ''labelled'' him as a ''chav''. This derogatory word then spread across media and is now a way of referencing the ''less educated members of society'', who live in council estates and act in a violent manner.  

He also says that newspapers and the public openly ''ridicule the poor and less fortunate'', by using these derogatory terms, but would be outraged if a similar word/phrase was mentioned about race or gender. An example of this is when Plan B encountered a street gang during the production of ''Ill Manors''. He states that he ''stood his ground'' when confronted by them, and soon ended up being ''saved'' by another group nearby (that allowed him to continue with the production). However, when the newspapers referred to this they excluded the part where another group of youths helped him. He therefore states that the media purposely leaves out this type of information, as it doesn't suit the rest of the content - which refers to these youths as antisocial, and violent.  Ultimately,  he encourages the audience to ignore these disparaging remarks and not judge those who are unfortunate and restricted in terms of education and upbringing.

These two examples link to Cohen's media theory of moral panic, as the public fear that these ''violent youths'' are terrorizing society, due to the stories they have read in the media. Both, Wikipedia and Mediaknowall suggest that moral panic occurs in stages. The first stage being an event or a group that is targeted and pose as a threat to the community. This then goes onto the second stage, whereby connections are made between the group/event and other stories in the media (''the public attention is focused on the issues''). Finally, these issues lead up to the third stage- social control- which reassures the public that the issue is resolved (ultimately removing the feeling of ''moral panic'').